Fassbender runs for mayor in Langley City

Peter Fassbender is running for mayor of Langley City, he announced Monday.

Fassbender said transportation, housing supply, homelessness, and the opioid crisis were among the key issues facing Langley City and the region.

“I strongly believe my previous years on council, as well as my time in the provincial government, have given me the tools I need to continue to contribute into the future,” Fassbender said in the announcement that he will run.

Fassbender served as mayor in the City from 2005 before leaving local politics for provincial in 2013. Fassbender was elected the Liberal MLA for Surrey-Fleetwood, and served as minister for education.

However, Fassbender lost the seat in the 2017 provincial election to the NDP’s Jagrup Brar.

Earlier this year, Langley City Mayor Ted Schaffer announced he would not run again and would step down from the chair, after serving as interim and then elected mayor since Fassbender’s departure.

Fassbender was a Langley school trustee in the late 1970s, and previously served on City council from 2002 and then ran for mayor in 2005 after former mayor Marlene Grinell stepped down. She backed Fassbender in his bid for the mayor’s chair.

There will be some competition for Fassbender this time, with City councillors Val van den Broek and Paul Albrecht having announced they will run for mayor already.